Day 57 - Check #1 Off of Ken's Bucket List!

This was one incredible day that will be remembered forever!  We were able to take Ken's most important and #1 thing off of his bucket list - climbing to the TOP of Angel's Landing!  This is something he has envisioned doing since we were in Zion with Dan and Jackie Hagy in 2010.  Ken and Dan said they have to do this hike sometime in the future.  One of Ken's business associates, Alan Campbell, who lived in Lancaster until moving last August to Idaho, was excited when Ken had mentioned to him about his desire to hike Angel's Landing sometime.  Alan had done it 4 times and told Ken whenever he wants to do it, he would love to join him for the hike!  Right before Alan left Lancaster, Ken told him of our plans to be in Zion this June and he asked Ken to tell him the exact date when we got there and he would do his best to join us.  True to his world, Alan, and his 10 year old son, Jackson, arrived here on Thurs. night and did the hike with us today!  How special.

The 6 of us got on the shuttle bus at the Visitor's Center at 7:45 and rode to the Grotto Stop to begin our hike to Angel's Landing.  It was cool when we started, but quickly warmed up and became a perfect day for hiking.  The 1st part of the trail is dirt, but quickly becomes pavement.  It ascends a series of switchbacks to Refrigerator Canyon, which is shadowed by Angels Landing on the right and Cathedral Mountain on the left.  The trail flattens out so hikers get a reprieve from the otherwise constant uphill grind.  The sights are amazing!

The 6 of us are ready for our strenuous and difficult hike
to Angels Landing! It is renowned as one of two premier hikes
in Zion, and for that matter, the whole National Park System.
It ends 1,500 feet above the canyon valley!

....and here we go.  The photo of it on the right is rather
frightening! 

That is Angels Landing behind Ken.  Are we
really going up there?????

It stays in view during most of the hike!

We are getting higher......

.....and higher.  Did we really come this far up that windy path????

....and we are still going higher.  Puffing was happening on
a lot of this trail!

From there you begin the 21 demanding, longer switchbacks collectively known as Walter's Wiggles.  This part seemed to go well and quickly for all of us.  The trail eventually exits onto a flat, sandy area called Scout Lookout, which is the final destination for many hikers.  It offers a great view of the Lower Zion Canyon without all the stress.  It was here that all of us reached the moment of truth - do we continue or make this the end of our hike.  Ken at 1st commented that he thinks he is done, especially when he looked at the remaining narrow, rocky path to the top of Angels Landing!  After some self-talk and encouragement from Alan, he decided to give it a try.  I decided I wanted to continue to, but I could tell Ken wasn't too happy about my choice.  He was certain I would stay behind with a lot of our "gear" and he wouldn't have to worry for my safety.  I didn't want to be left behind, so the 6 of us continued on.

This is the beginning of the 21 Walter's Wiggles!

Quite the view from those Wiggles!!!!

It's a long way down!!!!

From there, the last half-mile becomes dangerous.  You must negotiate your way along the mountain spine, on a path that is as narrow as 36 inches and drops off 1,200 feet on one side and 800 feet on the other.  In many spots, chains have been hammered into the rock to provide a grip for hikers, but not all the way to the top.  

From this landing we reached the moment of truth - stop or
go to the top!  We were excited to continue on!

This is the climb we were viewing when trying to make the
decision.  Here we go.....

A narrow "stairway".

Wow, we are really high now!!!

This is the narrowest part where you have only about 36 inches
for walking across the canyon!

Don't look down, Ken, just straight ahead!
For a guy who hates heights, he did well!!!

That is Ken's lens cover, but he wasn't about to put it back on
from this vantage point!  Quite a drop for a guy who doesn't
like heights!!! 

Hold on to those chains!!!!!!

Are we really doing this?????

I am beginning to get a glimpse of the top!!!

Are we soon there??????

We must be crazy!!!!!

But, I wouldn't want to miss these spectacular views!!!!!

The top is definitely in sight now!

Almost there!

At the top, you can see up and down the whole Zion Valley and it is time to relax and just take it all in!!!!  What a phenomenal feeling of accomplishment when you reach the very top!  It is almost overwhelming!  We got to witness a marriage proposal when we were on the top and a recording someone had of "Stairway to Heaven", rather appropriate!  Ken could not believe he had achieved a goal he has had for over 5 years.  To share this experience with special friends is incredible and something we remember always!!

We all made it to the top of Angels Landing!

It was so nice of Alan to join us with his 10 year old son,
Jackson. 

A marriage proposal at the top!

Like I said before, the view from the top was incredible!

The hike back down was a concern for me, because of the sand on some of the rocks that made it rather slippery.  But, the real problem on the way back down was all the hikers.  You had to constantly wait to the side for them to pace by or try to get out of their way.  It was challenging at times.  But 5.2 miles later and 5 1/2 hours after starting the hike, we were back to the shuttle bus top.  We were ecstatic and so thankful to be down without incident.

On our way back down - a bit steep!

Sometimes it was easier to go backwards!

Other hikers were sitting on rocks on the side of the trail so
we could head back down!

Chuck and Melissa had gotten ahead of us on the
way down.  Now you can see why hikers
were the biggest obstacle on the descent!

If there ever is another climb up Angels Landing
we would make sure we left earlier to avoid
the crowds!

We are off the tough part of the trail and on our way
 to the shuttle stop at the bottom of the trail!

But you have to work your way through the switchbacks!

We still have some hiking to do!

We headed to the Zion Lodge Gift Shop to get souvenir T-Shirts to honor our accomplishment.  We said our good-byes to Alan and Jackson and then the 4 of us rode the shuttle to the parking lot, and drove to Springdale to have a celebratory brick oven pizza lunch.  We also checked out the T-Shirts in that village and Melissa and I found ones we liked and Ken got a 2nd one.  He couldn't stop saying, we did it!!!!!

Someone was a bit tired from all that hiking!!!

Back to the CG by 4 and we went through all the photos Ken had taken.  At 5:30 we got together outside with sangria and wine to "review" our day.  We stayed outside till 10 playing games - the women won pinochle and Skip-Bo.

I did get a disturbing message from Lanie.  She had taken my mother to the hospital to see Dad, and he is not doing well.  Very confused, talks very little, and does a lot of staring at the ceiling.  Such a change from the day before and the Doctors are not sure what is happening.  They did some more blood work and hope to get the results tomorrow.  It could be the infection is worse, or the kidneys are not functioning normally.  I called and talked to my mother who of course is very concerned.  All we can do is wait to see what the tests show.  So, please continue to pray for my father.  He has a long way to go to be able to be able to return to Masonic Homes.